five fact friday

We are still at the lake, but here are five facts from this week.  More pictures to come when we return next week!

1.  We are having SO much fun!  :)
2.  Quinn actually doesn't mind her sunglasses we bought for her on clearance from Target.
3.  On a rainy day we went to Meijer to get pedicures.  Random, I know.  But it got the job done.
4.  We have enjoyed staying with Gigi and Papa.  They love playing with Quinn and helping take care of her.
5.  We are loving all of the fireworks and 4th of July celebrations around here.  So many of our good friends and family are at the lake this week, so it has been nice to catch up with all of them.

 Stayed tuned in for more vacation pictures next week and an extra special giveaway!!

Linking up with Lauren from H54F!

five fact friday

Well, I am officially taking a week to RE-CHARGE.  Quinn and I have safely made it to my family's lake house (aka-the best place ever!), and Matt will be joining us in a couple of days!  So, I will leave you with these five facts until next week.  (Happy Early Fourth of July!)

1.  Quinn likes the big girl stroller.  We recently bought this City Mini Jogger, and so far Quinn has really liked being able to look out at everything.  She is still a little small for the stroller but we have been strapping her in well and it seems to work.  I still use the snap and go for errands but I like this stroller for walks or going to the mall.

2.  I have been feeding Quinn prunes, if you know what I mean.  The baby food thing is going well except for the fact that it backs little Q up :/  prunes + sitting in this position + a few grunts and toots=success :) 

3.  My nursing days are slowly coming to an end (not necessarily by choice...it just kind of naturally happened).  We are at about 50/50 between breastmilk and formula.  Quinn loves to play with our faces when she gets the bottle.

4.  I am SO excited to be at the lake with my family.  I have been looking forward to this trip for a while.  This picture is from last year when my sister and I were both  preggo.  I am looking forward to the cool breeze and sand dunes!!

5.  Beacon started cuddling with us again.  I think he is finally coming around and has moved to the "acceptance stage" with Quinn being around.  I guess he realized she is here to stay and has accepted his new role in our family.  I love that he is FINALLY adjusting and semi happy again.

Can't wait to share lots of family and beach pictures when we get back!

sewing tutorial: diaper cover

This is one of the best tutorials I have come across in a while, which I REALLY appreciate as a beginner sewer.   It's honestly as easy to follow as one of Pioneer Woman's recipes ;)

Two new skills I learned while doing this project were, 1-sewing in elastic (not as difficult as I thought) and 2-sewing a ruffle (harder than I thought).

To make the diaper cover, just follow the directions and don't give up!

There are so many ways to do ruffles.  I had a hard time deciding which kind to make.  This type seemed pretty easy so I went for it.  The only thing I never really figured out was how to sew the ruffle to the diaper cover properly.  So, I just went ahead and sewed really closely to the middle stich and on the sides.  I'm not in love with how it turned out, but it will do.  Here are some tutorials that I found helpful for ruffles...
*how to "gather" or bunch the fabric
*seven types of ruffles
*sewing layers of ruffles (I might try this one next time)

 

I made another drawstring top dress to go with the diaper cover.  The process was SO much faster the second time around!  I used the pattern for the next size up (6-9 months, Q is 5 months old), which seemed to fit Quinn a lot better.  You can check here if you missed my post on how to make this dress.

 

Happy sewing!

trying something new

I think I finally got it right this time.  I have been growing my hair out for the past year in hopes that I could eventually curl it again.  I tried various techniques to get the loose curl look but my hair would end up looking HUGE or I would get a bunch of curls that were angled in all different directions.  I have a lot of hair, so I figured maybe that look just doesn't work well on thick hair.  Well, today I think proved myself wrong after all. 

My method?  I used Garnier Fructis Style Volumizing Anti Humidity Hairspray and a 1" Hot Tools Curling Iron I divided my hair into three sections and started with curling the bottom section first working my way up to the top section.  To make the curls, I held the curling iron perpendicular to my head, held it there for a few seconds, and released the curl slowly while pulling the iron downward.  I made sure every part of my hair was curled, not leaving out any stray strands.  Finally, after all the curls were done, I ran my fingers through them to break them up and sprayed my hair once with hair spray.  I also did a little bit of teasing at the crown of my head.

 

I definitely do not consider myself an expert on hair but it is something I enjoy dabbling with.  My Mom has always done hair and make up, and I actually considered going to beauty school at one point after college.  I am a little obsessed with beauty blogs, and although this is definitely not one, I thought I might try a small post on the topic.  Yes, this blog is about my family, but it's also an outlet for me to think about things that I personally enjoy :)

I think Quinn liked the curls :)